Monday Apple Rumors: iPad Air to Hit Regional Carriers in ‘Weeks’

by Christopher Freeburn | October 28, 2013 12:49 pm

Monday Apple Rumors: iPad Air to Hit Regional Carriers in ‘Weeks’

[1]Here are your Apple rumors[2] and AAPL news items for today:

More Vendors: The fifth generation iPad unveiled by Apple (AAPL[3]) last week will become available on regional wireless carriers not long after it launches[4], AppleInsider notes. Just days after the new iPad Air was announced at a special media event on Tuesday, C Spire Wireless and Bluegrass Cellular issued press releases indicating that they would carry the new tablet on their networks. Both companies said they would offer the iPad Air on their 4G networks “in the coming weeks” with “a range of attractive data plans.” The iPad Air hits retail store shelves and first-ranked wireless carriers on Nov. 1. The new tablet borrows design elements — including thinner bezels — from the iPad Mini. It is 28% lighter and 20% thinner than the iPad model it replaces and includes Apple’s new 64-bit A7 processor. Apple also unveiled a new Retina iPad Mini last week, but did not provide a specific launch date for the tablet, whose supplies are rumored to be severely constrained.

Expanded: Technology giants Apple and Google (GOOG[5]) are among the companies named in a class action lawsuit by workers who claim non-poaching agreements between the rivals resulted in lower salaries[6], Bloomberg notes. Last week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh granted the lawsuit class action status. She had previously denied class action status to the suit earlier this year, citing a lack of evidence that all parties covered in the suit had been hurt by the companies’ policies. More than 64,600 software and hardware engineers, programmers, animators, digital artists and Web developers are considered potential class members in the action. In addition to Apple and Google, Intel (INTC[7]) and Adobe (ADBE[8]) are also named in the lawsuit. The companies involved in the lawsuit agreed to settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2010 over the anti-poaching agreements.

Opening Soon: Sources tell 9to5Mac that Apple plans to open its first Apple Store in Brazil in March 2014[9]. The store will be located in Rio de Janiero. Apple announced plans to launch a retail outlet in Brazil last year, but hasn’t officially provided a timetable for the location’s launch. Apple will reportedly recruit U.S. store personnel to lead the Brazilian launch, delivering store management and retail practice training to local staff. The company apparently planned to launch the store earlier this year, but encountered staffing problems which forced it to postpone the opening until next year. An opening in the spring would come ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup games, which is expected to bring huge numbers of soccer-enthusiasts to Rio de Janeiro.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors[10] stories.

will become available on regional wireless carriers not long after it launches: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/10/25/apple-to-launch-ipad-air-on-regional-american-wireless-providers-in-coming-weeks-